Lost links & Re-ups

On any post, if the link is no longer good, leave a comment if you want the music re-uploaded. As long as I still have the file, or the record, cd, or cassette to re-rip, I will gladly accommodate in a timely manner all such requests.

Slinging tuneage like some fried or otherwise soused short-order cook

29 June 2013

Egypt

It appears prescient that we would have reached this point in
our journey at just this exact time.

Organizers of a mass protest scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday
June 30) against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi claimed today that more than
22 million people have signed their petition demanding the Islamist leader step
down, asserting that the tally was a reflection of how much the public has
turned against his rule.

There is a sense among both opponents & supporters of Morsi that
Sunday's rally is a make or break day. The opposition feels empowered by the
petition, known as Tamarod, or Rebel, but it has as yet offered no proof
regarding the 22 million figure. If true, it would mean that nearly double the
number of people who voted for Morsi a year ago are now calling for him to step
down.

Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. The demonstrations planned for
Sunday reflect the growing polarization of the nation since Morsi took power,
with the president & his Islamist allies in one camp, with opposition from
seculars, liberals, moderate Muslims, & Christians on the other.

The 22 million signature announcement adds to a sense of foreboding on the
eve of opposition-led mass demonstrations that many fear could turn deadly
& quickly spin out of control, dragging the country into a dangerous round
of political violence.

Although Egypt
is part of Africa, for all intents & purposes here it is the first country
of the Middle East. Egyptian music is some of
the most popular music in the Middle East & some of the Middle
East's biggest musical stars have been Egyptian. Since the Nasser
era, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture,
particularly among the large youth population of Egypt. Unfortunately, this popular
music is for the most part dominated by slickly packaged songs that are mainly
formulaic & for the most part uninspired. But a few bands are providing an
alternative. One is Black Theama, which combines Nubian rhythms with R&B,
hip-hop, reggae & African-influenced sounds, with lyrics sung in colloquial
street Egyptian Arabic.

Getting to hear Black Theama isn't easy, even for Cairenes with a taste for
music found off the beaten path. The band refuses to work inside the commercial
music industry, preferring to painstakingly save money to produce its own
recordings one at a time, with the help of friends & supporters. As such,
it has almost no records to speak of, & its shows are not heavily
advertised. Nevertheless, Black Theama's avid underground following regularly
packs venues.

Nubian actor Amir Salah Eddin is one of three singers who front the band. He says
the group takes its name, ‘Black Theme’ seriously, as it does its goal of
avoiding standard pop-music cliches in its lyrics. Their song ‘Sheraton’
features lyrics describing an early-morning Cairo scene as ordinary Egyptians
walk home to their poor neighborhoods, shuffling past the tourist-filled towers
of the five-star hotels that line the Nile River.

Singer Mohammed Abdo, who met Salah Eddin through theater work, says they try
to celebrate the black experience in Egypt through their music. "Being dark-skinned in Egypt is always connected to the
South" Abdo says, "&
people from the South have their own character, their own culture, even their
tone of voice is different." Ancient Nubia
included much of northern Sudan
& southern Egypt.
Southern, dark-skinned Egyptians are invariably referred to as Nubians &
traditionally they were given menial or servants' jobs.

What Black Theama provide is very personal, street-level views of Egyptian
life. Amir Salah Eddin says young Egyptians are familiar with alternative bands
from other countries, & that they're eager to embrace a homegrown group
that bypasses the music industry to speak directly to them. The band has tapped
into a hunger among young Egyptians for something that feels authentic to them
today. While mainstream Egyptian singers may croon about starry-eyed love &
teenage heartbreak, a character in a Black Theama song responds to his
fiancee's question about marriage by asking:

"Why not ask me about the corrupt politicians who stole my dreams? Or
about wealthy countries with children sleeping under bridges?"

Destiny in Chains was the first deathcore / metalcore band
from Egypt, formed in Cairo in 2006. The band
started their music career with a determination of making their sound different
from all other local bands. They were influenced by bands such as As I Lay
Dying , ATR , & Lamb of God. Destiny in chains recorded a six song demo
which was never released. Two of the songs were
later re-made for their debut Last Forever.

Before for that happened,
however, in 2007 the band went through some major changes. Because of financial
difficulties, the band line-up changed & along with it the bands overall
sound changed as well. Ahmed Abdel Men3em & Sheva took over guitar duties
while Lolo took over on drums & their sound solidified. There was a huge
lyricalchange along with changes in tempo, guitar riffs,
drums, bass, vocals…nearly everything but their desire to play metal & be
unique in the Egyptian music scene. On Last Forever the whole band
shared their vision which raised their music to a higher level.

Born & raised in Alexandria,
Kareem & Belal, the GebRiel Brothers are taking the Egyptian dance music
scene by storm with their energetic Trance productions & DJ sets. Their
first big break came after playing the notorious Sling Club. After that they
DJed various other prestigious parties around Egypt where they were able to excite
the crowds with their new sound.

After completing their military service, the
brothers built their own production studio and enrolled in sound &
mastering degrees, finishing at the top of their class.The brothers are now taking the next big step in their
career as both DJs & producers, determined to make a mark on the world with
their epic productions & killer remixes

They began their work in
early 2000 & started professional production in 2004. At that time they
started concentrating exclusively on pure trance. They first caught people’s
attention with remixes of Paul van Dyk’s ''Far Away'' & Sean Tyas’ ''Melbourne''. They
followed these with two originals for Discover Records ”Flashback” & “First
Light”. On the strength of these two tracks they were invited by Paul Trainer
to do a remix for Mitchell Claxton’s “Lumin” which reached a ranking of no.# 3
on Trackitdown.